Oscar Larios Ready For Takahiro Aoh on 3/12 in Tokyo

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

WBC featherweight champion Oscar Larios (63-6, 39KOs) is ready to make the next defense of his title against Takahiro Aoh (16-1, 8KOs) in a March 12 rematch at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Hall. Larios won somewhat controversial split-decision over Aoh last October at the Yoyogi First Gym in Tokyo. The WBC wanted the two men to lock up again to settle the issue on who won. [details]

[warp1432]

I think Aoh wins this one.

[jomarc]

im rooting for larios for this fight.. another BUM japanese.. they are afraid to fight outside of japan..

[grayfist]

I find myself hoping Larios wins this decisively not only because he's one of my sentimental favorites (his wars vs. Vasquez still gets my adrenaline pumping) but, also because, Larios retaining the crown shall help save it from being stored in some Japanese freezer brought out only for periodic intra-Japanese sushi parties that are always held in Japan.

[cool-jupiter]

Well, most Japanese fighters fight in Japan mainly because that's the best way to earn money. There are few of them, however, who refuse to fight outside of Japanese soil for the purpose of preventing the belt from going out of the country. But Aoh is not that kind of man. I know that. He is under the banner of Teiken Promotions, and if there woiud be an opportunity to face big names in the US, Aoh would definitely take it.

[grayfist]

I can scantly remember any Japanese fighter who defended his world championship crown outside Japan. Japanese fighters fight outside Japan to challenge champions, not to defend their titles.

A few examples:

The last Japanese WBAFeatherweight champion, Shojo Saijo, went to Los Angeles to take the title from Raul Roxas in late 1968, made all his 5 successful title defenses in Japan and it took a KO 5 by Antonio Gomez to extract the title from Japanese territory.

In similar fashion, Kuniaki Shibata went to Baja, California to take the title from Vicente Saldivar in 1970, made his defenses in Japan and Clemente Sanchez had to KO him in the 3rd in Japan to uproot the title from Japanese soil.

But Japanese fighters seldom even had to go out of their homeland to challenge for titles:

Osamo Sato took the WBASuperBantam title from a Thai in a fight in Japan then surrendered it to Salem Midjkuone some five months later also in Japan.

In 1997, Joichiro Tatsuyoshi beat Singwangcha to wrest the WBC Bantamweight title in Japan, defended it three times in Japan and then lost it to Sahaprom in Japan by KO6.

Current WBC Bantamweight titlist Hasegawa won the crown in Japan some four years ago and still has to be seen fighting outside Japan after 8 defenses.

Back in the mid-90's Yasuei Yakusiji held the title for some three years and went through 4 challengers successfully--all in Japan--until Wayne McCulough paid him a visit.

At the start of this century, Masamori Tokoyama took the WBC SuperFly title from In Joo Choo and for 6 years, Tokoyama and Katsushige Kawashima alternated in defending it in Japan. (Kawashima beat Tokoyama then was beaten by Tokoyama who later handed it to Christian Mijares).

Earler, in the mid-90's, another Kawashima, Hiroshi, held the title and never went out of Japanese territory for three years, staging all his 6 successful title defenses in Japan.

Another Japanese champion who never defended outside his homeland was Jiro Watanabe. He also won his title in Japan.

And the list goes on...

Even Fighting Harada had only one title defense outside Japan. The 2nd Pone Kingpetch fight; in 1963 in Thailand. He went to Australia to face Famechon but he was the challenger.

Edit: Another is Royal Kobayashi who lost his SuperBantam title to a Korean in Seoul in 1976. I won't be surprised if that shall prove to be the last time that a Japanese world champion defended his title outside Japan. That was more than 32 years ago.

Regardless of the reason, the end result is the same: in vast majority of the time, world titles that land in Japan are very, very rarely brought outside the country for title defenses.

Edit 2: I just remembered that Russian transplant, Yuri Arbachakov, went to Thailand in March 1993 to defend his title in a return match--his first and last title defense outside Japan in a reign that lasted more than five years.

That trip will have its 16th anniversary next month.

[giacomino]

Japan was Germany in boxing long before Germany became the land of the SD loss for out-of-town fighters. Aoh wins this fight because 1. Larios is shot and 2. Japanese were really pissed over the scoring of the first fight and it would be hard for Larios to win another decision unless it's really, really decisive and I don't think Larios has it in him. I see Aoh winning something like 116-112

[grayfist]

I think Aoh wins this one.

You called it, warp. Congratulations!

I had hoped it would be the other way around, but...Oh well...

[-Boxzilla-]

larios lost by ud if anyones interested ...